Crop–pollinator interactions in urban and peri-urban farms in the United Kingdom

Societal Impact Statement: Urban food production could contribute towards sustainable food provision and would also deliver benefits to biodiversity and the health of urban residents. Many crops rely on insect pollination, but urban pollinator populations are under-studied. In this study, crop–pollinator interactions and pollination quality were quantified in urban allotments in the United Kingdom. A diversity of insects was observed visiting the flowers of food crops, with squash, cucumber and fruit trees attracting the most flower visitors. However, strawberry plants pollinated naturally by insects produced lower quality fruit than those receiving supplemental hand-pollination. Urban crop pollination could therefore be improved through the provision of food and nesting habitats for insects. Summary: Growing food in and around cities could be a partial solution to sustainably increasing food production in an urbanised world. Recent studies have shown that small-scale urban farms can be as productive, if not more so, than large-scale conventional farms. However, the question of which insects visit fruit and vegetable crops in urban areas and whether there are sufficiently large and diverse populations to provide adequate pollination to food crops has been little explored. Here we quantified plant–pollinator visitation networks in urban allotments in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK, to determine which insect groups visit commonly grown fruit and vegetable crops. We also conducted pollinator deficit experiments to determine whether there are sufficient pollinators in urban allotments to adequately pollinate two commonly grown insect-pollinated crops, strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) and runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus). A broad range of insect-pollinated fruit and vegetable crops were grown in allotments and were visited by a diversity of insects spanning many taxonomic groups. We found little evidence that runner bean crop yields were limited by a lack of pollination; however, open-pollinated strawberry plants produced more ‘unmarketable’ fruit suggesting there is potential for improving the delivery of pollination to strawberries grown in urban areas. Our results suggest there are potential opportunities for expanding urban food production to the benefit of both people and biodiversity. We recommend that future work should also consider the effectiveness of different insect groups in pollinating the various crops grown in urban areas

Proper orthogonal decomposition of thermally-induced flow structure in an enclosure with alternately active localized heat sources.

The paper presents the structure of buoyancy-driven flow occurring in an enclosure with two alternately active discrete heat sources. For the analysis of the mixing of the fluid layer and its effect on heat transfer process, the flow information has been presented both in time and spectral domain. The inherent dynamics is also studied using the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). POD technique is used here to assess the energy content in the different modes and the related coherent structures of flow considering different Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 103–106), switching frequencies (Z 1 with Z = 0.1–0.8) and air as working fluid of Prandtl number (Pr) of 0.71. The results reveal nonlinear characteristics of hydrodynamics and heat transfer at higher Ra for low frequency. Here, POD helps understanding the flow dynamics from information about the coherent structures of different energy modes

NOS1-derived nitric oxide promotes NF-κB transcriptional activity through inhibition of suppressor of cytokine signaling-1.

The NF-κB pathway is central to the regulation of inflammation. Here, we demonstrate that the low-output nitric oxide (NO) synthase 1 (NOS1 or nNOS) plays a critical role in the inflammatory response by promoting the activity of NF-κB. Specifically, NOS1-derived NO production in macrophages leads to proteolysis of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1), alleviating its repression of NF-κB transcriptional activity. As a result, NOS1(-/-) mice demonstrate reduced cytokine production, lung injury, and mortality when subjected to two different models of sepsis. Isolated NOS1(-/-) macrophages demonstrate similar defects in proinflammatory transcription on challenge with Gram-negative bacterial LPS. Consistently, we found that activated NOS1(-/-) macrophages contain increased SOCS1 protein and decreased levels of p65 protein compared with wild-type cells. NOS1-dependent S-nitrosation of SOCS1 impairs its binding to p65 and targets SOCS1 for proteolysis. Treatment of NOS1(-/-) cells with exogenous NO rescues both SOCS1 degradation and stabilization of p65 protein. Point mutation analysis demonstrated that both Cys147 and Cys179 on SOCS1 are required for its NO-dependent degradation. These findings demonstrate a fundamental role for NOS1-derived NO in regulating TLR4-mediated inflammatory gene transcription, as well as the intensity and duration of the resulting host immune response

Self-compassion, metabolic control and health status in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a UK observational study.

Aims: Self-compassion is a modifiable characteristic, linked with psychological well being and intrinsic motivation to engage in positive health behaviours. We aimed to explore levels of self-compassion in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and their association with levels of depression, diabetes-related distress and glycaemic control. Methods: A cross-sectional study in 176 patients with T2DM in Leicester, UK, using three self-report questionnaires: the Self Compassion Scale (SCS); Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS-17). Demographic data, medical history and blood samples were collected. Results: Majority of participants were male (n=120, 68.2%), with median [IQR] age and HbA1 c of 66 [60, 71] years and 7.3 [6.7, 8.0] %, respectively. Multivariable analysis adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity and diabetes duration revealed significant association of all three scores with HbA1 c : per one standard deviation increase of each score, a -0.16% reduction in HbA1 c for SCS (p=0.027), 0.21% increase for PHQ-9 (p=0.012) and 0.33% increase for DDS-17 (p<0.001). Conclusions: Higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of depressive symptoms were associated with significantly better long-term diabetes control. These results reinforce the importance of emphasis on psychological parameters, including self-compassion, in the multi-disciplinary management of T2DM. We identify this as a potential area for intervention in UK practice

The rationale and design of a cross-sectional study to investigate and describe the Chronotype of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and the Effect on Glycaemic Control: The CODEC study

Introduction A person’s chronotype is their entrained preference for sleep time within the 24-hour clock. It is described by the well-known concept of the ‘lark’ (early riser) and ‘owl’ (late sleeper). Evidence suggests that the ‘owl’ is metabolically disadvantaged due to the standard organisation of our society which favours the ‘lark’ and places physiological stresses on this chronotype. The aim of this study is to explore cardiometabolic health between the lark and owl in a population with an established metabolic condition - Type 2 Diabetes. Methods This cross-sectional, multi-site study aims to recruit 2247 participants from both secondary and primary care settings. The primary objective is to compare glycaemic control between late and early chronotypes. Secondary objectives include determining if late-chronotype is associated with poorer cardiometabolic health and other lifestyle factors, including well-being, compared to early-chronotype; describing the prevalence of the five different chronotypes in this cohort and examining the trends in glycaemic control, cardiometabolic health, well-being and lifestyle factors across chronotype. Analysis The primary outcome (HbA1c), linear regression analysis will compare HbA1c between early and late chronotypes, with and without adjustment for confounding variables. Chronotype will be modelled as a categorical variable with all five levels (from extreme-morning to extremelate type), and as a continuous variable to calculate p for trend across the five categories. A number of models will be created; unadjusted through to adjusted with age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, duration of diabetes, family history of diabetes, current medication and dietary habits. All secondary outcomes will be analysed using the same method. Ethics Ethical approval from the West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee (16/WM/0457). Dissemination The results will be disseminated through publication in peer reviewed medical journal, relevant medical/health conferences and a summary report sent to patients. Registration details Registered on clinicaltrials.gov NCT02973412 (23.11.20116

The effects of empagliflozin, dietary energy restriction, or both on appetite-regulatory gut peptides in individuals with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity: the SEESAW randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Aim To assess the impact of the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin (25 mg once-daily), dietary energy restriction, or both combined, on circulating appetite-regulatory peptides in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and overweight or obesity. Materials and Methods In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 68 adults (aged 30-75 years) with T2D (drug naïve or on metformin monotherapy; HbA1c 6.0%-10.0% [42-86 mmol/mol]) and body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or higher were randomized to (a) placebo only, (b) placebo plus diet, (c) empagliflozin only or (d) empagliflozin plus diet for 24 weeks. Dietary energy restriction matched the estimated energy deficit elicited by SGLT2 inhibitor therapy through urinary glucose excretion (~360 kcal/day). The primary outcome was change in postprandial circulating total peptide-YY (PYY) during a 3-hour mixed-meal tolerance test from baseline to 24 weeks. Postprandial total glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), acylated ghrelin and subjective appetite perceptions formed secondary outcomes, along with other key components of energy balance. Results The mean weight loss in each group at 24 weeks was 0.44, 1.91, 2.22 and 5.74 kg, respectively. The change from baseline to 24 weeks in postprandial total PYY was similar between experimental groups and placebo only (mean difference [95% CI]: −8.6 [−28.6 to 11.4], 13.4 [−6.1 to 33.0] and 1.0 [−18.0 to 19.9] pg/ml in placebo-plus diet, empagliflozin-only and empagliflozin-plus-diet groups, respectively [all P ≥ .18]). Similarly, there was no consistent pattern of difference between groups for postprandial total GLP-1, acylated ghrelin and subjective appetite perceptions. Conclusions In people with T2D and overweight or obesity, changes in postprandial appetite-regulatory gut peptides may not underpin the less than predicted weight loss observed with empagliflozin therapy.</p